This fabric’s large-scale floral and foliate pattern refers to the lush colors and textures of 17th-century Italian or Ottoman velvet. Spanish-born Venice-based artist Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo stencil-printed and hand-painted pigment that was impregnated with bronze powder onto a red cotton ground. He then discharge-dyed the fabric, carefully removing color from select areas.

The art and ornament of the Italian Renaissance, Persia, Byzantium, and classical Greece inspired Fortuny to experiment with new printing, draping, and pleating processes. Beginning in 1909, he accumulated 18 patents for printing silk and cotton fabrics with many layers of color.

Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. “A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design”. Providence: Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1985.